My published papers are available via my University of Sussex website: Publications
Reducing antibiotics: Evidence from an experiment among poultry farmers in China (with Meike Wollni, Jaizhu Li, Linghzhi Li and Li Zhou)
Public support for climate smart dairy farming: Evidence from an experiment in the United Kingdom (with Walter Kiptoo Kiplagat, Zoe Barker, Yiorgos Gadanakis, Sara Hall, Daniel Enriquez-Hidalgo, Doris Laepple and Christopher Reynolds)
Can Rationality be Taught? Experimental Evidence from India (with Chris Ksoll)
Absentee landlords and land tenancy (with Melanie Khamis and Siddharth Sharma)
Restoring trust: Evidence from the fertilizer market in Tanzania (with Hope Michelson and Chris Magomba). See our blog entry in VoxDev and a summary at JPAL
Improving access to new technologies: An experiment with agro-dealers in Kenya (with Sarah Kariuki, Francisca Muteti, Michael Ndegwa, Hope Michelson, Mercy Mbugua, Jason Donovan)
The Smart Dairy project is a European initiative aimed at creating climate-smart solutions for dairy production. As the UK lead, I work with teams across four countries to explore innovations that reduce greenhouse gas emissions from dairy, which is a major contributor to global emissions. With growing global demand for dairy, reducing emissions is urgent to help achieve a climate-neutral EU by 2050. In the UK, we focus on consumer perceptions of climate smart dairy systems, take a value chain approach involving farmers and processors. So far we have completed focus group interviews, farm visits, a consumer choice experiment, and a representative farmer survey. In 2025, we further plan a primary data collection among open day visitors at UK universities to assess their willingness-to-pay for climate smart dairy products. More information on the team and the project can be found on the project website. Data and pre-analysis plans are available on Open Science Framework.
The adoption of new agricultural technologies is key to economic growth and improving farmers' incomes. Traditionally, government extension services provide agricultural information, but due to budget constraints, developing countries are exploring demand-driven extension, where farmers pay for information. This project examines how to deliver soil fertility information and fertilizer recommendations in a cost-effective way. Previous attempts to sell this information to individual farmers were hindered by low willingness to pay (WTP) and high costs. Instead, we "sold" the information to farmer groups, aggregating WTP while accepting and measuring free-riding. A lab-in-the-field experiment was conducted with Malawian farmers to assess their collective WTP for soil information.
This project was led by Julia Berazneva (Middlebury College) and in collaboration with Hope Michelson (University of Illinois), and Wezi Mhango (LUANAR: Lilongwe University of Agriculture & Natural Resources). We conducted a modified public goods experiment in 32 villages in two districts of central Malawi in 2019. We also collected soil samples and conducted soil analysis, using the SoilDoc kit. We used these data to study the relationship between investment in learning and soil heterogeneity. Replication data is available via the Journal of Development Economics site. This project was funded by Middlebury College in the US.
Fertiliser use remains below recommended rates in most of Sub-Saharan Africa, contributing to poor crop yields and poverty. Producers voice suspicion that available fertiliser is often adulterated, but these concerns are (mostly) not backed by reliable evidence. In a prior project with Anna Fairbairn, Hope Michelson, Brenna Ellison and Victor Manyong, summarised on VoxDev, we visited all fertiliser sellers in Morogoro Region in Tanzania, tested their fertiliser, and found the urea, the most common fertiliser, to be of good quality. However, the beliefs of farmers in the region are pessimistic, likely contributing to lowered demand.
I am collaborating with Hope Michelson at the University of Illinois and Christopher Magomba at Sokoine University of Agriculture to evaluate the effects of an information intervention on the supply and demand decisions of agro-dealers and farmers. We use the random assignment of all 100 markets (in the same region) and nearby villages into treatment and control groups. In advance of the 2019 agricultural season of 2019, we distributed information signs and pamphlets in the treatment markets and held village meetings in the treatment villages. We collected baseline and endline data among both agro-dealers and farmers, and monitored fertiliser sales and prices throughout the season. This research was funded by DFID's Private Enterprise in Low-Income Countries (PEDL) research initiative. The paper is currently under review and data will be made available via FIGSHARE.
China is a major poultry producer, but the industry’s rapid expansion has made it one of the most polluting sectors, especially with the use of antibiotics for disease prevention. This practice contributes to bacterial resistance, human health risks through the food chain, and environmental pollution. This study evaluated a three-pronged program developed with a poultry processing company to reduce antibiotic use among poultry farmers in Jiangsu province. The program included: (i) raising awareness about antibiotic alternatives (e.g., improved barn sanitation and acidifiers), (ii) providing subsidies for acidifiers, and (iii) exposing farmers to differential social norms. While all farmers received awareness training (i), components (ii) and (iii) were randomized. We conducted a baseline survey of 1,000 farmers in Spring 2019 and implemented a cross-randomized design with around 250 farmers per group during 2019-2020. The endline survey was completed in 2020.
This study was led by Li Zhou at Nanjing Agricultural University and in collaboration with Meike Wollni at the University of Göttingen. This research was funded by the National Natural Sciences Foundation of China. The paper is currently under review, and data will be made available via FIGSHARE.
The Anchor Farm Model (AFM) by Clinton Development Initiatives (CDI), launched in 2008, aims to improve agricultural production, income, and food security for smallholder farmers in Malawi through integrated soil fertility management (ISFM) practices. CDI disseminates knowledge via demonstration plots, farmer clubs, and lead farmers while providing access to credit, seed, and output markets. In this study, our primary goal was to evaluate AFM's impact on adoption, yields, and incomes. Using random assignment of 250 villages, we assessed the effects of CDI's interventions on farmer outcomes, exploring channels and household variations. At the study's conclusion, farmers received information on soil and ISFM practices.
I led the project joint with Hope Michelson (University of Illinois) and collaborated with Chris Barrett (Cornell University), Cheryl Palm (Columbia University), the late Ephraim Chirwa (University of Malawi), and Wezi Mhango (Bunda College) on a series of papers resulting from this study. This research was funded by the International Initiative for Impact Evaluation. Data are available via FIGSHARE. Results were presented in 2017 (full presentation recorded here and a short interview here). We also discussed the goals, hiccups, and results of our research in a 3IE evidence dialogue webinar in 2020. The final report of this project can be accessed via the 3IE website here. Published paper include an analysis of farmers learning from extension agents and the functioning of farmers groups. A summary of the study on village fairness norms and land rental markets, a spin-off of this project let by Kwabena Krah can be found on the following site: GlobalDev.
The Tara Akshar + Literacy Program, developed by Readingwise UK and implemented by Development Alternatives, is an adult literacy/numeracy initiative for illiterate rural women. It uses an interactive, computer-based method combining cognitive psychology and memory techniques, such as turning letters into cartoon shapes resembling objects starting with that letter.
I led the project with Chris Ksoll, and collaborated with Ashwini Deshpande (University of Delhi) and Alain Desrochers (University of Ottawa) to evaluate the program's impact on literacy, decision-making, and socio-economic outcomes. Phase I (2013-14) involved 300 women, and Phase II (2014-2018) expanded to 800 women, adding measures of household decision-making and investment in child health and education. Findings were shared on Ideas for India.
This research was funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Data can be downloaded via FIGSHARE. More information can be found on the Tara Akshar Research Project site.
For my PhD dissertation at Cornell University, I collected data in collaboration with the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT). The villages selected for this study are part of the Village Level Studies (VLS) program of ICRISAT. In this program, ICRISAT followed 300 randomly selected households from six villages in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh during the period 1975-1985. In 2001, ICRISAT restarted the panel, revisiting 185 of the first generation VLS households and their split-offs, in addition to 261 newly added households.
I collected information on the determinants of agricultural technology adoption (Bt cotton), with a focus on social networks, among the ICRISAT households in three villages: Aurepalle, Kanzara and Kinkhed. This research was funded by the National Science Foundation in the US. Data can be downloaded via FIGSHARE.
For my PhD dissertation at Cornell University, I collected data in collaboration with the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT). The villages selected for this study are part of the Village Level Studies (VLS) program ICRISAT. In this program, ICRISAT followed 300 randomly selected households from six villages in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh during the period 1975-1985. In 2001, ICRISAT restarted the panel, revisiting 185 of the first generation VLS households and their split-offs, in addition to 261 newly added households.
I collected information on the constraints to educational investment in girls, focusing on marriage related social norms, among the ICRISAT households in three villages: Dokur, Kalman and Shirapur. This research was sponsored by the National Science Foundation in the US. Data can be downloaded via FIGSHARE.
Annemie Maertens - Updated March 2025